Citroen reveals its latest new DS model, the DS4 crossover-style hatchback based on the C4

It follows on from the Mini Cooper-rivaling DS3 hot hatchback in Citroen’s new DS range, a plusher and more distinctive take on the company’s regular cars. As the name suggests, the DS4 is a reworked Citroen C4, but rather than being a bigger DS3, it heads down the increasingly popular crossover route.

While it forgoes four-wheel drive and boxy looks, it's wider and taller than the regular C4 while also being 60mm shorter and going for a 2+2 coupe look, its sloping ceiling and pinched windowline at the rear giving it an almost baby-BMW X6 stance. The look’s aided by concealed rear door handles.

It makes the DS4 look much more like the striking outgoing C4 than the much more conventional current car (also launched at Paris).

There’s a wealthy engine range, with three petrol units and two diesels. The THP 200 is likely to be our pick, the 197bhp/203lb ft 1.6-litre turbo engine that also stars in the Peugeot RCZ coupe. Sitting below it are 118bhp VTi 120 and 154bhp THP 155 versions. They’ve been co-developed with BMW.

Diesel options consist of the 108bhp HDi 110 and 158bhp HDi 160, both fitted with a diesel particulate filter system and the former available as a ‘micro-hybrid’: it gets start/stop technology, an optimised gearbox and an alternator tuned for energy recovery when braking.

A decent drive is promised too, the DS4’s project manager saying ‘we really wanted drivers to feel like they have the road at the tips of their fingers’. The DS3 provides a very good, if not overly feisty driving experience, and we’d expect more of the same from the DS4.

It’s revealed at the end of the month at the 2010 Paris motor show (all Paris news here) with sales starting in 2011. Expect prices to kick off at around £16,000, a small premium over equivalent C4 models likely.

Read more about:

Experience the thrill of driving every month with evo magazine, devoted exclusively to the greatest performance cars in the world. If you're passionate about performance cars then evo is your ultimate monthly read.